Chapter 116: Chapter 116: Only a Few Can Dodge the Floating Cannons, and I’ve Met Them All
Sensing the intense heat, Qi Suian paused in a place that barely qualified as shade, letting the Tai Sui God cool down.
After flying for three straight days under the scorching heat, it was high time the Tai Sui God got a break.
Otherwise, between the direct sunlight, the sweltering heat, and the Sun Puppets that would randomly spawn out of nowhere, it had definitely taken some damage.
Since the second day of the limited-time event, Sun Puppets no longer appeared by moving into an area. Instead, they could materialize anywhere the sun shone.
For all the survivors, this was nothing short of a cataclysm.
If a single Sun Puppet spawned, a team wipe was essentially guaranteed.
Qi Suian himself had run into them five times, a rather high frequency.
Luckily, even when he did, he was able to escape unscathed.
He suspected he was being targeted; otherwise, encountering them five times in three days seemed impossible.
But he had stopped for another reason. After consuming a large amount of medicinal concoctions and nutrient solutions, combined with his own diligent training and a dash of talent, he was about to have a breakthrough.
And Qi Suian had figured out where that "talent" came from.
It was his Celestial Fate: Profound’s +3 Kaiyang and +4 Wuqu enhancements.
The former accelerated his cultivation speed, while the latter significantly boosted his ability to learn, practice, and master techniques.
It was as if Qi Suian had inherited Qin Sheng’s aptitude.
There were drawbacks, of course. Both enhancements were restricted to things of the Martial Dao.
’It’s not like I can just exploit a bug by wishing for it. The system’s judgment has its own internal logic. I can’t just say, "The Martial Dao should encompass all things," and then—presto—the restriction vanishes.’
’That’s not bug exploitation; that’s making your words law.’
The system operated with its own strict logic. It wouldn’t even count his firearms practice—not even the Gun Combat Technique.
With these two enhanced attributes, Qi Suian smoothly broke through from the Dan Force Realm to the Gang Force Realm.
Barring any surprises, he should be able to reach the Tribulation Force Realm in about ten more days.
His progress had accelerated, so the original timeframe was no longer valid.
This was good news for Qi Suian.
’I’ve just entered the Gang Force Realm. My stats haven’t dropped, but the mystical aspects of the Inner Strength from Ancient Martial Techniques are much weaker.’ Of course, he wanted those reality-defying abilities, but ’it was just a nice thought’.
"But after reaching the Gang Force Realm, my Inner Strength circulates through me like a Gang Wind."
"It’s not like what an orthodox Ancient Martial Artist has, but it does mean every one of my attacks now carries Inner Strength."
Qi Suian observed the changes in his Inner Strength. As his Evil Ancient Martial Technique progressed, two-sevenths of his Inner Strength was now composed of two special types of force.
Heart Strangling Force and Bone-Breaking Force.
Heart Strangling Force damaged the heart, meridians, and internal organs, while Bone-Breaking Force shattered armor and bone.
Combined with his Silk-Reeling Force and String-Snapping Force, all four forces could strike simultaneously. This meant a single hit from Qi Suian would inflict four additional types of damage on his foe.
’Three days to go from the Dan Force Realm to the Gang Force Realm, and another ten to reach the Tribulation Force Realm... if anyone else knew, they’d die of jealousy.’ Qi Suian couldn’t help but grin.
He was well aware that without the help of his "protagonist halo," just reaching the Dan Force Realm through normal cultivation was an incredible feat.
Yet here he was, on the verge of the Tribulation Force Realm after such a short time. If the Danjin Grandmasters from the Ancient Martial World were to see him, their Martial Dao convictions would probably shatter.
’But that was just a thought. If he really encountered a survivor, his first instinct would be to capture them alive and use them as an experimental subject.’
He had yet to dissect a true Danjin Grandmaster, after all.
After all, the final three realms of his Ancient Martial Technique were created by using "Xin Yi Fist" to optimize and modify three other Evil Ancient Martial Techniques, ultimately forging them into his own unique Evil Ancient Martial Technique.
If he gave his revised techniques to people from the Ancient Martial World, they would just dismiss it as a heretical Evil Ancient Martial Technique that would lead practitioners astray.
An Evil Ancient Martial Technique, while heretical and risky, was still considered a genuine branch of Ancient Martial Technique.
Qi Suian’s version was different. He had practically stripped out all the essential, foundational principles of ancient martial arts.
Even if someone managed to successfully practice it without dying, they would be weaker than a normal Ancient Martial Artist.
But Qi Suian was different. He wasn’t a "normal person," so he could practice it without any major issues and, in fact, gain the corresponding stat bonuses.
"It’s been three days already. Where am I supposed to find those seven old geezers?"
"If this keeps up, the Tai Sui God won’t last much longer."
As Qi Suian’s power grew, and with his powerful adaptability, the heat didn’t bother him much as long as it wasn’t lethal.
The Tai Sui God, however, was a different story. It was far too fragile.
Qi Suian was counting on those seven old geezers to deliver a golden opportunity right to his doorstep.
"Speaking of which," Qi Suian asked, "since the temperature has gone up, has the amount of daily evolution energy the Tai Sui God is absorbing also increased?"
[Affirmative. A proportional increase has been observed...]
"Say... if we captured a Sun Puppet and used it as fuel, could we just evolve the Tai Sui God directly?" Qi Suian’s mind started scheming again.
He was desperate to unlock another module slot for the Tai Sui God.
He wasn’t greedy; he just wanted to slot in Qin Sheng’s juggernaut ability or his own Inner Strength.
[With your current power level and that of the Tai Sui God, approaching a Sun Puppet is not feasible.]
The heat radiating from a Sun Puppet was too intense. Its core was at least a thousand degrees.
And that was just the radiated heat. Qi Suian couldn’t even imagine how high the temperature inside its body was.
That’s why, when faced with a Sun Puppet, the number one rule for survivors and violators like Qi Suian alike was to run for your life.
[This information was previously known to you. Is it necessary to initiate the cognitive reset procedure?]
The subtext was clear: ’Watch yourself. Has your intelligence been nerfed again? How else could you say something so stupid?’
Hearing this, Qi Suian began to ponder. ’If my intelligence has been lowered, then where’s the corresponding opportunity?’
"Help me figure it out. Based on my previous thought, where’s the opportunity hiding?" Qi Suian roped in his assistant, making the AI ponder with him.
’The intelligence drop is a given. Why else would I have been idly contemplating suicide?’
[The "Sun in a Bottle," or an item for heat resistance that can be obtained by killing a Sun Puppet.]
"You overestimate me."
"The Dark Energy Beam could indeed kill a Sun Puppet, but nothing would be left of it afterward, not even ash."
As for the Sun in a Bottle, that wasn’t something Qi Suian could even think about right now.
The temperature at the mere periphery of that thing would probably be enough to vaporize him.
Not even his Dark Energy Beam could break it down.
So, when it came to the Sun in a Bottle, Qi Suian could only choose to ignore it.
What else could he do? Charge in recklessly and gamble on his protagonist halo?
He could, but the problem was that both his Celestial Fate: Profound and the Sun in a Bottle were X-class. There was no guarantee his protagonist halo would win out.
Getting turned on and killed would be a perfectly normal outcome.
[Lifeform detected moving at high speed. It possesses some form of cloaking technology. Reconnaissance network cannot capture an effective three-dimensional image.]
"Let’s find a place to hide for now."
"We’ll see who it is. If it’s a survivor... wait for my order."
To put it in perspective, the AI had never used the term "high-speed movement" to describe even Qin Sheng, a Tribulation Force Ancient Martial Artist.
That meant this was no ordinary person.
As for the natives, they couldn’t achieve this speed even if their Power of the Limit reached a hundred degrees.
Therefore, the most likely possibility was that this was one of the seven who had intended to protect Qin Sheng.
Qi Suian’s reason for hiding was simple: to see if he could launch a surprise attack.
What other choice was there? At this point, only one of them could walk away alive.
Therefore, what Qi Suian had to do was maximize his advantage.
Given the intuition-based, almost precognitive nature of Ancient Martial Artists, if he let his opponent prepare, they might just max out their evasion stat.
"AI," Qi Suian suddenly asked, "can we boost the attack power and targeting speed of the Floating Cannons? I’m tired of being countered by these high-agility, high-evasion types."
[Enhancement is not recommended. The Floating Cannons’ weakness stems from the Tai Sui God’s insufficient number of evolutions. Adding an extra enhancement module would yield limited results for you.]
[There are very few survivors or natives capable of evading the Floating Cannons.]
"That can’t be right. How come every enemy I run into is one of them?" Qi Suian was speechless.
[You are competing in the high-end bracket.]
[Furthermore, I must correct you. The number of enemies you have encountered who could evade the Floating Cannons remains in the single digits.]
Qi Suian’s eye twitched. He supposed that was true. He had completely forgotten about all the natives and survivors he’d tossed into the Melting Furnace for fuel.
He only remembered the handful of impressive ones.
As for the unimpressive ones, he basically just referred to them as "fuel." Qi Suian didn’t even consider them human.
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"Such palpable malice." Pei Xia’s expression hardened as he sensed a malevolent presence in the ether.
He was Qin Sheng’s grand master, the strongest Land Immortal Realm Ancient Martial Artist in a thousand years. Of course, back in his day, they weren’t called Ancient Martial Artists, but simply Martial Artists.
Only after ages had passed and the world had changed, after the martial arts had fallen into decline, was the prefix "ancient" added.
"This malice... it doesn’t feel like a Desolate Beast. It feels human."
A cold glint appeared in Pei Xia’s eyes.
"Since my Martial Dao intuition can sense it, that means the source isn’t far."
"And the only person who would harbor such animosity toward me is the one who killed Qin Sheng." Pei Xia quickly put the pieces together.
At this, his expression darkened.
He had invited his six other comrades to seek revenge with him, but each of them had refused, citing various excuses.
Pei Xia, however, could not swallow this insult, and so he set out alone.
The other six tried to talk him out of it, but his mind was set. Their words were futile.
Of course, he wasn’t doing this purely to vent his anger.
In his eyes, the fact that his enemy had so easily shattered the seven-layered protection they had left for Qin Sheng meant the person possessed an item on par with the Land Immortal Realm.
To break through all seven layers, in fact, suggested a treasure that might even surpass the Land Immortal Realm. If he could obtain it and study it, he would gain an insurmountable lead over the other six.
When Qin Sheng was alive, paving the way for them all, their interests were aligned. Naturally, they were a picture of unity and camaraderie.
But now that their shared interest had crumbled, their alliance was nothing but an empty shell.
